Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Ernest Bloch and the Sacred Service

An esoteric pick of the week from the Swiss-American composer

Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch

Ernest Bloch is best known for his composition Schelomo for cello and large orchestra but he wrote a ton of music for “large orchestra.” We take an esoteric look at his Avodath Hakodesh: Sacred Service for Sabbath Morning, written for orchestra and chorus.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Video:

Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service)

Composer, Ernest Bloch (24 July 1880–15 July 1959); orchestra, New York Philharmonic

Composer, Ernest Bloch (24 July 1880–15 July 1959); orchestra, New York Philharmonic

The piece was completed in 1933 and flows between massive hyper-emotional segments interspersed with delicate gauze-like textures in the orchestra and chorus. The 1930s were the era of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. Sacred Service is not in that tradition but rather forges its own identity — as did Bartok and Stravinsky.

There is a spiritual element to Bloch’s music that is grounded in the Jewish culture but often exceeds the confines of a specific tradition. Bloch’s intention with Sacred Service was not to be exclusively Jewish but to provide a piece for all who seek to worship.

Bloch was born in Switzerland in 1880 and immigrated to the United States in 1916. Bloch was associated with several conservatories in the U.S. He was the first director of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the second director of the San Francisco Conservatory. He taught part time at U.C. Berkeley until 1952 after moving to Agate Beach, Oregon, in 1941.

Sacred Service is a glorious piece of music. I would welcome the opportunity to hear it performed live. Of course, when and where that might occur is a mystery. The recording here is by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch

Ernest Bloch is best known for his composition Schelomo for cello and large orchestra but he wrote a ton of music for “large orchestra.” We take an esoteric look at his Avodath Hakodesh: Sacred Service for Sabbath Morning, written for orchestra and chorus.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Video:

Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service)

Composer, Ernest Bloch (24 July 1880–15 July 1959); orchestra, New York Philharmonic

Composer, Ernest Bloch (24 July 1880–15 July 1959); orchestra, New York Philharmonic

The piece was completed in 1933 and flows between massive hyper-emotional segments interspersed with delicate gauze-like textures in the orchestra and chorus. The 1930s were the era of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. Sacred Service is not in that tradition but rather forges its own identity — as did Bartok and Stravinsky.

There is a spiritual element to Bloch’s music that is grounded in the Jewish culture but often exceeds the confines of a specific tradition. Bloch’s intention with Sacred Service was not to be exclusively Jewish but to provide a piece for all who seek to worship.

Bloch was born in Switzerland in 1880 and immigrated to the United States in 1916. Bloch was associated with several conservatories in the U.S. He was the first director of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the second director of the San Francisco Conservatory. He taught part time at U.C. Berkeley until 1952 after moving to Agate Beach, Oregon, in 1941.

Sacred Service is a glorious piece of music. I would welcome the opportunity to hear it performed live. Of course, when and where that might occur is a mystery. The recording here is by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Seals hook up with Beaver

Salty’s Escape is a Mexican-Style cerveza brewed with corn and puffed Jasmine rice
Next Article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.